On Monday, September 20th, I walked into the Davis House prepared to discuss Cornelius Plantinga Jr.’s book, Engaging God’s World. I took my seat and Dr. John Basie began the session by making the point that there are four main biblical moments: Creation, Fall, Redemption, Consummation. Growing up in Sunday school, I felt like I knew all I could know about how God created the earth, man sinned, and then Jesus came to the earth to forgive us of our sins. However, I soon came to understand that these four events go much deeper than I had believed. We got into discussing longing and hope and we contemplated whether they were the same thing or not. We discussed shalom, which is “universal flourishing, wholeness and delight”. The following day, David Blanchard (the men’s SLC here at IMPACT 360), discussed creation and how, if we look at it correctly, creation is a mirror of God. At the end of that session, my classmates and I were given an assignment: an oral presentation that covered each chapter of Engaging God’s World, and how these things relate to a biblical worldview. The following morning, we gave our presentation to our classmates to help each other to better understand each of the four biblical events and our group’s view on the topic.
Being at Impact 360, around men like John Basie and David Blanchard, helps inspire me to strive to be the same kind of man. It’s great to be around good, Christian role models that can help to guide me. As we near the beginning of week 3, I think about the time that my classmates and I have enjoyed together in class and around campus in the past 17 days. It really makes me realize how great the community is here at Impact. It’s only been a little over two weeks and I already feel like all 28 of us have known each other for years. I see the things that God has done around this campus so far and it makes me excited to see what He will do in the next nine months!
In Christ,
Mitchell Aldridge
IMPACT 360 Class of 2011